Top 10 Breakout EDM Artists of 2015

Published: December 21, 2015

By: Harry Coomer

Looking back over the "breakout" lists we've assembled over the past couple of years, we've established a good track record. Past performers have included Odesza, G Jones, Manic Focus, and The Floozies, all who have maintained their zest and fire this year, and continued their upward trajectory in the industry.

What we hope is that the acts we've included this year will continue their meteoric rise to be the established big shots of the future. We haven't seen too many of our picks fall off. Not to say that a couple haven't...

The unique thing about our Top 10 Breakout Acts of 2015 is that they represent a wide assortment of the electronic music styles and sounds we dig, and that each entrant in this list is actually doing something different, not just riding coattails to the top of the heap. With any luck, they'll look fondly back at this list in a few years and get a nice warm memory of how 2015 was the year they broke it big.

10. Brasstracks

Pushing their very own brand of "future brass," this inventive duo has melded live instrumentation and tight production into a sweet, sexy, and sassy sound that begs you to dive into the back catalog. Catch them on tour with Gramatik this spring.

9. Frameworks

We were blown away by Matt Brewer's LP Tides in the spring, and then cherished the release of his EP, Branches this fall on Loci Records, as well as his US debut dates. Now we're waiting patiently for even more material, but Brits can enjoy his February run with Emancipator.

8. NGHTMRE

The rise has been a quick one for Tyler Marenyi, who only started producing as Tmare a couple years ago, and then rebranded and bust the fuck out as NGHTMRE with mad support from Mad Decent.